On March 29, the rock-pop duo Fearing & White will be playing at the Nancy Appleby Theatre in the latest show presented by the Heartwood Folk club.
On March 29, the rock-pop duo Fearing & White will be playing at the Nancy Appleby Theatre in the latest show presented by the Heartwood Folk club.
The group comprises Juno award-winning singer/songwriter Stephen Fearing and Andy White, winner of some of Ireland's most prestigious songwriting awards.
The Advocate spoke with Fearing from his home in Nova Scotia prior to the start of the tour.
Fearing and White met at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1998. A quick conversation backstage would lead to a lasting friendship. However, with Fearing living in Guelph, Ontario, and White in Switzerland at the time, the pair would have short periods of time once a year to trade lyrics and work on music together.
"There was a point where he and I kind of realized there was something special here. We like singing together for one, and we wrote well together.
"Whenever he came through town, we always made sure there was time to do some writing, as well as a couple gigs as well,' Fearing said.
After more than 10 years, the pair would put out their first album, Fearing & White, in 2011.
Audiences can look forward to hearing many of the songs from that first album, but they can also expect to hear installments from the latest album, Tea and Confidences, released on March 4. This time around, the duo took a much different approach to the creative process.
"We had 10 years to do that (first album), and the second one we had very little time," Fearing said.
Last summer, the pair had four days in between festivals in Vancouver and on Salt Spring Island. They holed up in an inn with a pull-out couch and a loft and, in a marathon session over four days, came out the other side with a nearly finished product.
"We bought a bunch of food and several bottles of wine and just had it out," said Fearing. "Sitting down and basically writing 11 songs over four days is quite a feat. I think they're really great songs; it was really spontaneous."
However, Fearing said it felt like his brain was turning to jelly at times.
"We really didn't think, 'We're going to write our album' … there was a point where we both looked at each other and went, 'We've got six songs … let's just keep going. There's no point in stopping now or taking a break or going sightseeing,'" Fearing said.
Along with Fearing & White, Fearing does solo work and plays with the group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. White, who currently lives in Australia and has a band there, also works with a band in Europe and publishes poetry. Fearing said at times it can be hard to coordinate with a band mate who lives on the other side of the globe.
"It does make for some interesting logistics," Fearing said. "That's the hardest part of it, but the rest of it is pretty great."
Both men grew up in Ireland listening to the British charts, where pop hits and groups like Abba would be played alongside punk bands like The Sex Pistols.
"(Our music) is a mixture of all these different things," Fearing said. "I bring a more rootsy, North American thing to it, and Andy is definitely more European in his lyrics and melody."
The Athabasca show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Rexall Drugs, Value Drug Mart or Whispering Hills Fuel for $22 in advance or $25 at the door (plus special pricing for youth and seniors), or by calling Peter Opryshko at (780)-916-6871.
